A real traditional way of producing absinthe does not exist in Germany. That is why many absinthes of different qualities can be found; some contain very much anise whereas some are anise free and they are all produced in a different way.

Absinthe in Germany during the Belle Epoque:

Absinthe has never kown such a succes in Germany as it has in France or in Switzerland, although these countries have a common boarder line. If absinthe was forbidden in Germany in 1923, it was only a saftey measure. The German government thought wiser to follow its neighbours and banned absinthe 13 years after the Swiss (1910) and 7 years after the French (1915).

Absinthe in Germany nowadays

The production of absinthe in Germany is governed by the 1988 Europeen directive. However, it is only as of the beginning of the XXIth century that the first absinthes reappeared in Germany.

Two commercial absinthes can easily be found on the market : the Abtshof and Tabu absinthes.

It is also important to quote the Ulex distillery. It produces number of different absinthes, all very different to one another however all produced according to the same method: maceration and blend of essences.

Finally, although number of German distillers exist nowadays, it is important to remember the name of two distilleries that produce high quality distilled absinthe : the Eichelberger and the Neuzeller distilleries.